There’s no hiding DeMarcus Cousins’ frustration.

The season that was supposed to be different from his first five, the season in which he had a real chance to make the playoffs, is unraveling just like the others.

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Cousins returned from his one-game suspension by general manager Vlade Divac for conduct detrimental to the team and had 31 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. It was the 10th time he’s had a double double with at least 30 points this season in a loss, the most in the NBA.

Cousins was banished for a game for yelling at coach George Karl during Wednesday’s loss to Cleveland.

“That wasn’t a suspension from the organiza tion ; that was one from the head coach,” Cousins said. “There’s a difference.”

Cousins was asked if he’d spoken to Karl.

“(Karl) hasn’t said a word to me,” Cousins said.

Cousins is not the only player who’s frustrated. There have been issues with practices, defensive concepts and player rotations all season.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Karl was supposed to maximize the more talented unit that Divac put together with the goal of making the playoffs.

Instead, the Kings are 25-40 and Cousins has expressed his frustration to Karl more than once, the last time leading to the suspension.

“I know for a fact there’s a lot of frustration in this locker room,” Cousins said. “I believe everyone believes we should be a lot better than we are and we’re just frustrated that we’re not. We haven’t performed to the level of expectations, so there’s a lot of frustration with that.”

Cousins has had a lot of instability in his Kings career – from having five head coaches, including three last season, and three general managers to dealing with rumors for years that the team would relocate.

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“It’s a lot of chaos, a lot of chaos,” Cousins said. “Usually it’s just a frustration about coming out and winning games. But so much extra stuff this season, extra unnecessary stuff. It’s a lot of stuff within, a lot of battles, including guys who should be on your side. It’s probably one of the most frustrating ones.”

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“It’s been a tough stretch,” Karl said. “Losing causes different types of mental reactions, and Sunday afternoon games sometimes have a dullness to them. Defensively, we weren’t very good, and offensively we weren’t very good. For three quarters, we weren’t playing.”

Bucks, Mavs interested in trade for Bledsoe?

Chris Paul‘s tweet yesterday not only assured Clipper fans that he’ll be in the fold for years to come, but re-opened the door to trading his understudy as well, it seems. According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne, the Clips are thinking of moving reserve point guard Eric Bledsoe to either the Bucks or Mavs in an effort to land 3-point specialist J.J. Redick or scoring swingman O.J. Mayo.

According to the ESPN.com report, new Clippers coach Doc Rivers wants to keep Bledsoe on the roster, but the Clippers are nonetheless engaged in “live” talks with the Bucks and Mavs regarding trades. The Magic and Raptors may also factor into a Bledsoe deal as the Clips have been in touch with those teams with talks that would land either Arron Afflalo (from Orlando) or high-flying swingman DeMar DeRozan (from Toronto).

The primary driving force behind any trade for Bledsoe is the summer of 2014, which is when he will become a free agent. The Clips are reportedly concerned they wouldn’t be able to match the kind of offer sheet Bledsoe would draw and, thus, lose him to the open market for nothing. As you can tell, this is a fairly complex story, but some details are below:

Sources told ESPN.com that the Clippers have this week exchanged sign-and-trade scenarios with both the Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks in potential deals that would bring either J.J. Redick or fellow free agent O.J. Mayo to L.A.

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The discussions with Dallas, sources said, center on Mayo, whom the Clippers are said to have contacted in the first few hours of NBA free agency Monday. Talks with the Bucks, meanwhile, center on Redick, with one source close to the process telling ESPN.com that a face-to-face meeting between Redick and the Clippers was imminent, perhaps as soon as Monday night.

The Clippers, in their previous discussions with Orlando and Toronto, have targeted Magic guard Arron Afflalo and Raptors swingman DeMar DeRozan, although it’s not immediately clear what Toronto’s pending trade of Andrea Bargnani to the New York Knicks does to the Raptors’ ability to stay in the Bledsoe hunt. The Clippers had interest in Bargnani as a potential solution to their lack of floor-spacing shooters.

A trade with any of the known suitors would almost certainly have to include other pieces — such as Caron Butler‘s expiring contract — because Bledsoe is due to make only $2.63 million next season in the final year of his rookie contract.

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If they can acquire another player or two Rivers likes, it’s believed he can be convinced to part with Bledsoe before the start of the season. The 23-year-old is eligible for a contract extension before the Halloween deadline for such deals for members of Bledsoe’s draft class.

Yet there’s clearly also a part of Rivers who wants to ignore the conventional wisdom that the Clippers can’t afford to keep Bledsoe as Paul’s backup and try to keep him around for one more season as the ultimate insurance policy for Paul.

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The Clippers, with or without Bledsoe, are focused on adding perimeter shooters around Paul and Blake Griffin, sources say, as well as upgrading their perimeter defense.

Blazers interested in Rockets’ Asik?

The acquisition of Thomas Robinson from the Houston Rockets on Sunday could signal the Portland Trail Blazers interest in Rockets’ center Omer Asik,according to Chris Haynes at CSNNW.

But what’s being overlooked in all this was the Trail Blazers’ willingness to facilitate the deal in order for Houston to free up the necessary cap space to pursue free agent center Dwight Howard.

According to league sources, several teams including the Trail Blazers, are closely monitoring the Omer Asik situation. Reports are out that the 7-0 center is available. If the Rockets get that verbal agreement they so desperately want from Dwight Howard, Asik will be moved.

One source who is tuned-in with how things could develop tells CSNNW.com that the Trail Blazers are in the Rockets’ good graces, which could have an influence on where they choose to ship Asik when it’s time to do so.